Why are'nt people in Japan not buying houses

 The secret behind the Japanese not owning a house

In most countries around the world, real estate is always at the top of business. Especially in Asian Countries, the house is also considered a yardstick to assess a person's stability. That is also why buying a home is always on the list of goals to strive for. Yet in Japan, people tend to rent a house more than buy one on their own. What is the reason behind this? You may ask, well read the full article to find out.

1) Can't afford to buy a house 

Why are young Japanese people not in a hurry to buy a house? Many people often think that Japanese people like to live in small houses. However, In reality, they are not willing to buy but unable to buy it in the first place.

Japan has experienced a real estate investment crisis. Between 1985 and 1990 house prices in some Japanese cities went from low to high by about 200% but then the bubble deflated and Japan entered "two lost decades". After the collapse of Japanese real estate decreased insignificantly and remained unchanged. 

Until 2012, housing demand began to increase, and housing prices in these places also began to increase. However, the demand for real estate fell sharply in small cities and rural areas far from urban areas. People moved to big cities, so the demand to buy houses in the countryside also dropped sharply.

According to reports, in recent years, middle-aged and elderly people over the age of 50 in Japan have sold their houses and cars in the suburbs to move to the city center. This has also pushed up housing prices in Japan's urban areas.

According to wagayajapan.com, 2019 figures for Tokyo's medium annual salary by age group show that Japan's richest group of people are office workers in their 50s with 8,829 million yen. And office workers in their 20s and 30s are the lowest income group with salaries ranging from 3,352 to 5,884 yen.

Meanwhile, housing prices in central Japan are always expensive. Real estate in Tokyo is always at the top of the most expensive real estate in the world and fluctuates greatly from year to year. 

According to data from resources realestate.co.jp, the average selling price for a new apartment sold in the Tokyo metropolitan area is 61 million yen ( about $423,000). Therefore, it can be seen that it is not that young people in Japan do not want to buy but they do not yet have the ability to do so.

In addition, Japanese people don't worry about housing because they don't put much emphasis on buying a house when getting married. In the land of cherry blossoms, when young people get married, they don't consider their ownership of real estate or the ability to buy property as important criteria like in India.

According to Japanese survey data, the homeownership rate of people aged 20 to 29 is 6.4%, and people aged 30 to 39 at 35.7% and that of people aged 40 to 49 is 57.6%. In other words, the percentage of Japanese buying houses at a young age is very low.

2) Renting a house is more Economical

The Japanese believe that renting a house is more cost-effective than buying a house. In recent years, the quality of rental housing in Japan has been getting better and better. Whether for singles or couples, a growing number of high-quality rental properties are available. People who do not have enough money to buy a house can also have an ideal life like this.

Moreover, In Japan buying a house is not necessarily cheaper than renting a house. The Japanese youngsters figured it out that Buying a house with a loan of 35 million yen is not worth it and renting a house for 120,000 yen per month will save more money. After reviewing and calculating the management fee, repair fee, and loan interest rate...the results show that the rental option is actually cheaper. That is also the reason that most young Japanese do not choose to buy a house but continue to rent a house.

3) Renting a house in Japan is very safe and convenient

In Japan, rental houses and homes for sale are essentially separate. Most rental homes are managed by official intermediaries. Therefore, houses that are decades old are still very clean and tidy. Moreover, all signing and leasing procedures have been carefully agreed upon in Japan.

In Japan, landlords cannot cancel contracts or evict guests as this is considered a violation of the law. There will not be a situation of being forced to move, so guests can rest assured to rent for a long time.

In addition, the Japanese government has preferential policies for guests, not allowing landlords to arbitrarily increase rental prices to protect vulnerable groups. Therefore, many people, even if they have money, do not want to buy a house but accept to rent because their interests are guaranteed in this scenario.

Another reason is that the working class in Japan often does not have a fixed job but changes places of work. Therefore, buying a fixed house will cause a lot of inconvenience for them. When renting, they will be able to freely choose a location close to the workplace to make it more convenient for them to work. 

Lastly, Japanese people often think of investing in spiritual life instead of material. Therefore, they often spend money on trips with family and friends or care about beauty and health care rather than collecting every penny to buy a house.